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Delivering local, farm-fresh products from fields to markets can be a logistical challenge — especially for smaller farmers who cannot justify the costs of buying their own trucks, building their own coolers or hiring their own food safety coordinators.

The “Collaborating to Access New Markets” workshop will share ways small- and medium-sized growers can pool their resources to better supply wholesale markets and other larger distribution networks. The event will also include lessons learned from one of the East Coast’s oldest and largest organic produce cooperatives, and from one of the original collaborative efforts of Yolo County growers.

The workshop, offered by UC Cooperative Extension, will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 29 at the office of the Yolo County Housing Authority, 147 W. Main St. in Woodland.

“Many growers are trying to expand their markets, and they can’t do it all by themselves,” said Shermain Hardesty, director of UC's small farm program and agricultural economist at UC Davis.

“By working together, small- and medium-sized farmers can save time and money. We’re not just talking about a vague concept, but talking about specific tools that can help farmers grow their businesses,” she said.

Featured at the event will be Jim Crawford, farmer and president of Tuscarora Organic Growers cooperative in Pennsylvania. Crawford has more than two decades’ worth of experience leading a collaborative marketing service to sell to urban wholesale markets.

Tuscarora Organic Growers is owned entirely by member farmers who share shipping and marketing costs to retail grocery stores, food co-ops and restaurants in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The cooperative currently works with more than 50 producers to distribute about 100,000 cases of fresh produce and flowers each year.

Also speaking at the event will be Dru Rivers and Andy Scott to discuss lessons learned from their experiences as founders of YoCal Produce Cooperative in California. Though no longer in operation, YoCal’s decade of marketing collaboration led to many of the ventures that Capay Valley growers participate in today.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner and UC Cooperative Extension in Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Lake, Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin counties.

Registration includes lunch and is $15 by June 24, or $20 after.

For more information or to register, visit http://ucanr.org/collaborating or call (530) 752-7779.